Author: Thornrun

Following the passage (354-60) of a resolution aimed at rebuking President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from northern Syria, House lawmakers are readying action on a pair of measures dealing with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosures. For today, the lower chamber will take up legislation that would mandate the SEC to conduct investor testing and surveys when developing regulations about disclosures for retail investors. The second bill — which would require the disclosure of the total number of domestic and foreign employees of certain public companies — is expected to be considered tomorrow to close out the week.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: House Begins Work on SEC Measures”

Despite resetting the government funding deadline to provide more time for negotiations, House and Senate appropriators have indicated that fiscal year (FY) 2020 spending talks remain deadlocked. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) stated yesterday that lawmakers may need to take up another stopgap funding measure to keep the government funded through the remainder of the year if an agreement isn’t reached before the Nov. 21 deadline. While Chairman Shelby and House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) have both expressed the desire to move spending bills through regular order, “poison pill” issues such as border security and family planning policies could stymie the appropriations process for the foreseeable future.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: Shelby Indicates Spending Negotiations Remain Sluggish”

Congress returns to action today as lawmakers gear up for a three-week work session. With 28 legislative days left on the 2019 congressional calendar, House and Senate appropriators are expected to continue negotiations on subcommittee allocations for each of the 12 fiscal year (FY) 2020 spending measures. If they reach an agreement, they could begin “pre conferencing” the 12 fiscal year (FY) 2020 spending bills ahead of the Senate’s votes on the floor. However, disagreements over the Trump administration’s border security and family planning policies — as well as the recent developments on impeachment — could complicate matters for FY 2020 government funding bills.

Continue reading “This Week on the Hill: Lawmakers Return As End-of-Year Legislative Sprint Looms”

Late last Friday, President Donald Trump signed the seven-week continuing resolution (CR) (HR 4378) that Senate lawmakers cleared last week prior to breaking for the Columbus Day district work period. The measure punts the impending government funding deadline until Nov. 21 and extends key expiring authorizations — including the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im), and a slate of expiring health care programs.

Continue reading “This Week on the Hill: Funding Bill Signed as Lawmakers Break for Two-Week Recess”

The Week in Review

After the Senate cleared (81-16) the House-passed continuing resolution, President Donald Trump signed the stopgap funding bill into law ahead of the Sept. 30 government funding deadline to temporarily avert a shutdown. The CR pushes the funding deadline to Nov. 21 while also ensuring that numerous key policy riders — including extensions for several expiring health care programs, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Export-Import Bank — are addressed prior to the deadline. In other notable FY 2020 spending news, the Senate Appropriations Committee cleared funding bills for: (1) Interior-Environment; (2) State-Foreign Operations; (3) Commerce-Science-Justice; (4) Homeland Security; and (5) Legislative Branch during a markup last week.

Continue reading “Health Policy Report (9/30)”

After a busy month that saw significant action on appropriations and a push towards impeachment proceedings, House lawmakers have convened to wrap up legislative business for September. On the floor, the House will consider a suspension bill out of the Homeland Security Committee that would authorize a Joint Task Force aimed at improving the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to detect and interdict synthetic opioids and narcotics. Lawmakers are also poised to take up a Senate-passed resolution (S.J.Res. 54) that would terminate President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration on the southern border.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: Funding Bill Hits Trump’s Desk After Senate Passes CR”